February 13, 2002 Dear Minister McLellan, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your recent appointment as Minister of Health. I look forward to your involvement on the health file in Canada, most notably the tobacco control issue. My name is Luc Martial and I have endeavoured in the field of tobacco and health, in Canada, over the last decade. My experience and background is perhaps unique in that I am the only health professional in our country to have held significant postings on the issue from within anti-tobacco, national health community and government environments. In this sense, I have truly worked on the issue and understand the arguments from a wide-range of perspectives. During this last decade I have worked as a government lobbyist and policy analyst with the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association of Canada , as a data specialist and public affairs coordinator with the Canadian Council on Smoking and Health, as the Director of the National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health, as the Executive Director of the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control, and as both an Evaluator with the Office of Research, Surveillance and Evaluation and a Policy Analyst with the Office of Policy and Planning within the Tobacco Control Programme at Health Canada. I have essentially been at the forefront of every significant tobacco control initiative in Canada over the last ten years and bring to the file in-depth knowledge of most issues relevant to tobacco control. In June of 2001, I resigned my posting with Health Canada on matter of principle - and at great cost to myself and my family. As an independent professional, I now try to assist stakeholders in securing meaningful and fair dialogue with Government. In my experience, industry stakeholders have continually been set-up to fail and the current consultation process/mechanisms within the federal Government are completely inadequate to ensure them an honest opportunity to communicate with your department. To a larger extent, this impacts all Canadians and their right to a fair and democratic process. While I recognize and appreciate your hectic schedule, I would certainly welcome meeting with you and discussing the serious issues which continue to permeate the tobacco control environment in Canada (e.g. lack of meaningful consultation mechanisms within the department, the inherent problems with the current Ministerial Advisory Council on Tobacco Control, etc). I am also writing today to specifically enquire about project funding from the department and specifically under the Federal Tobacco Control Strategy (FTCS). Recognizing that several external groups/professionals will likely be receiving project/program funding under FTCS over the next 5 years, I was wondering how others like myself, independent professionals or even industry stakeholders would go about applying for funding from Health Canada. In the past, funding to organizations has mostly been discretionary and exclusionary. I would like to obtain relevant information on:
As a dedicated tobacco control professional, I remain committed to effective and responsible tobacco control activities. Unfortunately, because I do not share in the health community’s or many departmental official’s views of industry stakeholders, I have since been dismissed by my former colleagues. These former colleagues currently manage the FTCS and guide your Ministerial Advisory Council on Tobacco Control. Hoping that I can avoid being myself set-up to fail, I hope that your stewardship of the file will allow professionals like myself to secure fair opportunities for consultation and funding. I thank you for your time on this matter and look forward to your response. Respectfully, Luc Martial The only professional worldwide to have comprehensively worked on the issue from within advocacy, national health community and government environments, Luc Martial has been at the forefront of every significant tobacco control campaign in Canada over the last decade. He has successfully laboured as a government lobbyist and policy analyst with the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association (Canada’s most aggressive advocacy group on the issue), as a Data Specialist and Public Affairs Manager with the Canadian Council on Smoking and Health, as the Director of the National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health and as an Evaluator for both the Office of Research, Surveillance and Evaluation and the Office of Policy and Planning within the Tobacco Control Programme at Health Canada. In June of 2001, Mr. Martial abruptly resigned his posting with the Government of Canada.
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